Do fashion and art overlap?
Explore their relationship from the evolutionary process
Foreword
Art is the process of human creation. When it is created, the so-called “works of art” will be produced. It doesn’t matter who will like it and who will criticize it.
— Roland Barthes
Art is that human beings leave their traces in different ways in the world when they are alive, and we are attracted by traces that can resonate with us, sometimes worship; sometimes pity; sometimes sympathy; and sometimes just pure appreciation.
— my friend
For me…
Through the appreciation and creation of art, I have gained a sense of pleasure in my heart. It allows me to observe myself, express my emotions, and record my current thoughts, environment, and mood.
The fashion industry has given more meaning to fashion and increased the possibility of fashion shows through some designers, such as Alexander Mcqueen, John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, and Martin Margiela. These shows have also become a classic of fashion shows. Therefore, I began to think about whether the essence of fashion is the same as art. Is the highest level of fashion equivalent to art?
What is art
Art is something that stimulates an individual’s thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses.
In the European academic tradition, art is mainly created for beauty or creative expression, which is different from decorative art or applied art. In the aesthetic theory developed during the Italian Renaissance, the highest art is one that can fully express and display the artist’s imagination.
The word “fine” refers to the purity of the discipline according to the norms of the Western European tradition.
This definition initially excluded “useful” applied or decorative arts, as well as products considered crafts, except where the practical uses of buildings were accepted.
Historically, the five major fine arts have been painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and poetry. Other “minor or auxiliary arts” are drama and dance.
In contemporary practice, however, these distinctions and limitations become essentially meaningless, as the artist’s concept or intention is given primacy regardless of its mode of expression. This is one of the reasons why we connected the fashion and art.
The Origin of Art?
Morriss-Kay GM explained in the article “The Evolution of Human Artistic Creativity” that art originated from people’s appreciation of color.(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01160.x) People experimented with painting on the body and making shell beads. However, researchers are not sure whether people at that time used body paint to express their emotions. Body coloring may have been done to hide from enemies or to differentiate between classes and races, it is not considered the first work of art created by humans.
How is art commercialized?
Commercial art is the art of creative service, which refers to art created for commercial purposes, mainly advertising. Commercial art utilizes various platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) to serve an audience to promote sales and interest in products, services, and ideas. It relies on iconic images to enhance recall and favorable recognition of a product or service.
Commercial art emerged during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. Rapid technological progress brought about a boom in mass production, and design for advertising and selling large quantities of products became a booming industry. The designer’s creative intent was to grab consumers’ attention and achieve this through large letters and a variety of fonts, all printed in high-contrast colors.
As technology continued to advance, color lithography became a useful tool for designers to create commercial art. The ads moved from text-only designs to highly detailed colorful illustrations. The addition of color also revolutionized branding and labeling, and eye-catching packaging became an important area of commercial art.
Commercial artists can organize messages and knowledge about fine art, visualization, and media to capture the attention of their audience
Fashion
Compared with art, fashion has developed to the present and is more like a lifestyle chosen by people.
“Fashion” originally meant the idea of making yourself more attractive to others through the way you dress and dress. But it was influenced by climate, social class, and available materials.
Its cultural aesthetics therefore include social status, self-expression, style, and trends.
During the Middle Ages, guilds of skilled craftsmen began to specialize in the production of clothing and accessories. The Baroque era further emphasized luxurious textiles, exquisite clothing, and accessories. During this period, people began to combine aesthetics with clothing. In the 18th and 19th centuries, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the fashion industry underwent major changes. Mass production techniques, mechanization, and advances in textile manufacturing have revolutionized the way clothing is produced and distributed.
At the end of the 19th century, high-end fashion houses such as Chanel, Dior, and Givenchy began to appear in Paris, laying the foundation for modern fashion. These brands create high-end, custom-made clothing for wealthy clients. As the economic crisis slowed down and minds became enlightened, brands created new clothing silhouettes. In addition to attracting public attention, fashion designers began to integrate design concepts with ideas.
The 20th century saw the emergence of ready-to-wear clothing, department stores, and fashion magazines. The fashion industry has become more accessible to the public. In the 21st century, globalization and technological progress have changed the fashion industry. Global supply chains, fast fashion retailers, online shopping, and social media are reshaping consumer behavior and the way fashion is produced, marketed, and consumed. In the face of fierce competition, big brands have shifted their operational focus to revenue growth. Today, the fashion industry is a multi-billion dollar global enterprise.
In conclusion
From an evolutionary perspective, art and fashion have different meanings from the beginning. The proportion of function in the fashion industry has always been more important than expressing emotions. The initial definition of art is pure, and it develops commercial works in the process of evolution. What they both have in common is that art is divided into commercial art and fine art; fashion is divided into pieces that express the designer’s ideas and pieces that bring profits to the company. However, in this era of information explosion, it is not easy to distinguish between pure art and commercial art. In fact, if you really like the work, it doesn’t matter whether it is commercial work or not. But if you want to have personal ideologies when purchasing and appreciating works, learning to distinguish between these two pieces might help you avoid blind consumption and have more complete thoughts of the art and fashion field.
Tilda Swinton photographed by Tim Walker for W Magazine, Volume Seven 2018.
前言
藝術是人類創造的過程。 當它被創造出來時，就會產生所謂的「藝術品」。 有人喜歡，有人批評，但都沒關係。
— Roland Barthes
藝術只是人類在活著的時候以不同的方式在世界上留下自己的痕跡，而我們被那些能夠引起我們共鳴的痕跡所吸引，有時甚至是崇拜； 有時憐憫； 有時是同情；有時是同情； 有時是純粹的欣賞。
— 我的朋友👴🏻
而我…
透過藝術的欣賞與創作，我內心獲得了一種愉悅感和踏實感。 它可以讓我窺探自己，表達自己的情緒，記錄我現在的想法、環境和心情。
時尚界透過一些設計師，例如Alexander Mcqueen、John Galliano、Vivienne Westwood和Martin Margiela，賦予了時尚更多的意義，增加了時裝秀的可能性。 它們也成為了時裝秀的經典。 於是，我開始思考時尚的本質是否和藝術一樣。 時尚的最高境界是否等同於藝術？ 然後開始做這個研究。
什麼是藝術
藝術是透過感官刺激個人的思想、情感、信念或想法的東西。
在歐洲學術傳統中，藝術主要是為了美或創意表達而創作，這與裝飾藝術或應用藝術不同。 在義大利文藝復興時期發展出來的美學理論中，最高的藝術是能夠充分錶達和展現藝術家想像力的藝術。
「Fine」字指的是依照西歐傳統規範的紀律的純潔性。
這個定義最初排除了「有用的」應用或裝飾藝術，以及被視為工藝品的產品，除了建築物的實際用途被接受。
從歷史上看，五種主要美術是繪畫、雕塑、建築、音樂和詩歌。 其他“次要或輔助藝術”是戲劇和舞蹈
然而，在當代實踐中，這些區別和限制基本上變得毫無意義，因為無論其表達方式如何，藝術家的概念或意圖都被賦予首要地位。 於是，我們開始延伸時尚是否也是藝術的問題。
藝術的起源
Morriss-Kay GM在《人類藝術創造力的演變》一文中解釋說，藝術起源於人們對色彩的欣賞。人們嘗試在身體上繪畫和製作貝殼珠。 然而，研究人員並不確定當時的人們是否使用人體彩繪來表達他們的情感。 身體著色可能是為了躲避敵人或區分階級和種族，它不被認為是人類創造的第一件藝術品。（https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01160.x)
藝術如何商業化？
商業藝術是創意服務的藝術，指為商業目的而創作的藝術，主要是廣告。 商業藝術利用各種平台（雜誌、網站、應用程式、電視等）為受眾服務，目的是促進產品、服務和創意的銷售和興趣。 它依靠標誌性圖像來增強對產品或服務的回憶和良好認可。
商業藝術出現在18世紀工業革命期間。 快速的技術進步帶來了大規模生產的繁榮，以廣告和銷售大量產品為目的的設計成為一個蓬勃發展的行業。 設計師的創意意圖是吸引消費者的注意力，並透過大字母和各種字體（全部以高對比度顏色印刷）來實現這一目標。
隨著技術的不斷進步，彩色平版印刷成為設計師創作商業藝術的有用工具。 廣告從純文字設計轉變為高度詳細的彩色插圖。 顏色的加入也徹底改變了品牌和標籤，引人注目的包裝成為商業藝術的重要領域。
商業藝術家有能力組織有關美術、視覺化和媒體的資訊和知識，以吸引觀眾的注意力。
時尚
與藝術相比，時尚發展到現在更像是人們選擇的生活方式。
「時尚」最初的意思是透過打扮和穿著的風格使自己對他人更具吸引力的想法。但它受到氣候、社會等級和可用材料的影響。
因此其文化美學包括社會地位、自我表達、風格和趨勢。
在中世紀，熟練工匠行會開始專門生產服裝和配件。巴洛克時代進一步強調奢華紡織品、精緻服裝和配件。這時期人們開始將審美與服裝結合。18、19世紀，隨著工業革命的到來，時尚產業發生了重大變化。 紡織品製造的大規模生產技術、機械化和進步徹底改變了服裝的生產和分銷方式。
19世紀末，巴黎開始出現香奈兒(Chanel)、迪奧(Dior)、紀梵希(Givenchy)等高級時裝屋，為現代時裝奠定了基礎。這些品牌為富有的客戶打造高端訂製服裝。經濟危機減緩、思想啟蒙，品牌創造出新的衣服廓形，除了吸引民眾目光外，服裝設計師們開始將設計理念與思想融合。
20世紀的成衣、百貨公司和時尚雜誌出現了。 時尚產業變得更容易被大眾接受。21世紀，全球化與科技進步改變了時尚產業。 全球供應鏈、快時尚零售商、線上購物和社群媒體重塑了消費者行為以及時尚的生產、行銷和消費方式。在競爭激烈的情況下，大品牌紛紛將營運重心轉移到營收成長上。如今，時尚產業已成為一個價值數十億美元的全球企業。
結論
從演化的角度來看，這兩者一開始出現的意義就有所不同。功能在時尚產業的佔比一直都是重於抒發情緒的 。而藝術最初的定義是純粹的，只是在演化過程中發展出商業化的作品。它們兩者共同點是都有抒發想法作品和目的主義的作品。藝術有分商業藝術和純藝術。時尚有分表達設計師想法的單品和為公司帶來盈利的單品。不過在這個資訊爆炸的時代下，要分清楚純藝術和商業藝術是不容易的。事實上，如果你真心喜歡某個作品，不管它是商業作品還是有意義的作品都無妨了。只是如果你想有更多的自主意識在購買、欣賞作品時，學會區分這兩個商品，或許能幫助你避免盲從的消費行為，而且你會對藝術與時尚領域有更完整的想法。
